Engine counter or register



(No Model.) 7 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. P. L WOLFE.

ENGINE COUNTER OR REGISTER.

No. 540,888. Patented June 11, 1895.

WITNESSES (/4 /C,

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. F. L. WOLFE. ENGINE COUNTER OR REGISTER.

Patented June 11,1895.

WV Q77 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. F. L. WOLFE.

ENGINE COUNTER OR REGISTER.

Patented June 11, 1895.

WfI/VESSES [NYE/V10? UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

FRANK LESLIE W'OLFE, OF MEDFORD, ASSIGNOR TO THE CROSBY STEAM GAGE ANDVALVE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ENGINE COUNTER OR REGISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 540,888, dated June 11,1895.

Application filed March 15, 1895.

To aZZ whom it; may concern:

Be itknown that I, FRANK LESLIE WOLFE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Medford, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inEngine- Registers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the to art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to improvements in registers which are used toindicate the number of strokes of a moving part of machinery,

I5 and particularly on the device patented to me October 2, 1894:,numbered 526,885.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l represents a face View of the deviceon the bedplate, the usual register-case being removed.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the devices on the bedplate. Fig. 3 is a sideview of one of the register wheels and pinion. Fig. 4 is an end viewshowing the ratchet-wheel, pawl, and bars. Fig. 5 is a side View showingthe ratchetwheel, pawl, and bars. Fig. 6 is an end View of the pawls andbars enlarged; Figs. 7 and 8, views of the, registering-wheels; Fig. 9,a side view of a cog-wheel.

The special object of the present device is 0 as follows: In my formerpatent above referred to the pawl bar, either through reciprocation orrotation of the driving shaft, did not move in the are of the ratchetwheels agreater distance than was sufficient for the pawl to engage witha single tooth of the ratchet; also it has been found that, when thedevice was used only for registering the reciprocations of an engine,the reciprocations could not be made less than a certain portion of thefull circumference of a circle. To reduce this amount, or the arcthrough which the pawl bar would travel in reciprocation, was essential.To do so without rearranging the levers in that device it would causethe pawl bar or operating pawl to pass through an are greater than itshould. To engage a single tooth would throw the ratchet wheel more thanwas required; and the only way in the patented device to limit themovement of the pawl was, that the crank, which is a disk attached tothe end of the driving shaft,

Serial No. 541,898- (No model.)

should have the pitman shown as in said patent attached to it very nearthe axis of such shaft; and that the several levers which formed theframework foroperating the pawl bar should be so connected that theirthrow would be limited. All this has the tendency to increare the forcerequired to operate the register, as may be readily understood. Anyattempt to increase the distance between the axis of the driving shaft,and the attachment of the pitman to it, or to arrange the lovers for theeasier movement would increase the motion of the pawl bar or the singlepawl, as herein shown, to such an extent that the pawl would pass by,not only the single tooth of the ratchet wheel which it operates, butalso by the next tooth, and thus engaging it by the rotation orreciprocation of the driving shaft, throw forward the registering wheeltwo units, and thus give a result double the number of revolutions madeas above stated. To prevent the pawl from thus engaging the ratchetwheel, I have devised a mode of tripping it upon its movement beyond thetooth with which it should engage, so that it could not under anycircumstances engage with the succeeding tooth.

A is the bed plate of a suitable case, which case is not shown in thedrawings.

B is the driving shaft which is supported in a boxing, a, and enters onone side of the case and has on its inner end the disk, B, provided withthe crank pin, 0. Connected to this crank pin, 1), is a pitman, b whichis pivoted to a vibrating bar, C, which bar is pivoted to the frame, A.The other end of the vibrating bar, C, is pivoted to a connecting rod,cl. Said rod, d, is pivoted to a pawl bar, E, which is attached to ashort shaft, B", supported on the frame. The short shaft, B", hasattached to it a ratchet wheel, D, which is secured to the firstregistering or unit index wheel, F. Connected to the outer end of thepawl bar, E, is a pawl, d, and on the pivot pin, d, of the pawl, d, is acontrolling spring, 6 The pawl, (1, extends backward in a circular formto the end, (Z, and as the pawl bar, E, moves backward, this end, 61",engages with a curved guide, f, attached to the frame, A, and thereupon,sliding in such movement, is held from engaging with any tooth of theratchet ICO wheel except the one that is necessary to move the ratchetwheel, as intended.

The disk crank B 6' attached to the driving shaft is very much largerthan that shown in the patent referred to, and the pitmen, cranks, andbars are so segregated as to get the largest movement consistent withthe frame-work of the instrument, thus insuring a greater use ofoperating than would have been the case with the old devices. It hasbeen found that so complete is the guide for tripping the pawl that, nomatter what the size of the disk, crank and .parts may be, the pawlnever could throw the units wheel more than one tooth.

In Figs. 1 and 2 are represented a series of wheels, F F F F F F,arranged on a shaft, G, which is supported at the right hand endcarrying the wheel, F, in the same bushing with the axis of the ratchetwheel, D; and at the other end in a bracket, g, on the bed plate, A.

Parallel with shaft, G, is a. second shaft, H, one end being supportedin the bracket, g, and the other in a bracket,g', on the bed plate, A,near the gnide,'f. On shaft, H, are small cog wheels, h, h, 71 h h,there being one less in nu mber than the registering wheels; 2'. e., onetoothed or cog wheel between every two of the numbered wheels.

The numbering or registering wheels, except the units wheel, have each'a series of cogs or pins 19 on their faces to the right, as shown inFigs. 1, 2, 3, and 8 and all of them, except the last one, to the left,have only two cogs or pins f on the reverse or left-hand side. Thesewheels all rotate freely on shaft, G, and their hubs are so adjustedthat, when they are placed in juxtaposition, the wheels can rotateindependently. The distance between the wheels, F, F, &c., is nearlyfilled by the projecting cogs or pins pf. The cog wheels, h, &c., onshaft, I-I, being placed between the wheels, F, &c., are arranged tomesh with the teeth or pinspf, on the sides of the numbered wheels andthey rotate freely on the shaft, H. The action of this arrangement is asfollowsi When, by the rotation of the shaft, B, the pawl, 61, is causedto rotate and move the ratchet wheel and with it the units wheel onerotation, the two cogs,f', on the left hand side of the units wheelengage the teeth of wheel, h, and it is moved just one cog distance andcarries with it the second wheel one cog, and, being released, it andthat wheel remain stationary until the second full rotation of the unitswheel, and so on until the second or tens wheel has rotated once around,when the third wheel will be engaged in a similar manner by the wheel,71., This will continue until all the wheels in the series have beenrotated to their fullest extent.

To the left of the sixth or last wheel there is a small segmentalroller, K, on the shaft, H,

which serves as a stop to prevent the sliding the register wheels, thelatter will slide upon their shaft, G, by it, and away from the gearing,thus permitting the registerwheels to be reset. This roller, K, by itsown weight will keep its position behind the register wheels to preventtheir sliding.

I claim- I 1. The combination of the rotating driving shaft, B, havingon its end the disk and wrist pin, the pitman, vibrating bar, theconnecting rod, pawl bar, E, pawl, 11 for registering rotary orreciprocating motions, and ratchet wheel, D, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the driving shaft, 13, having the disk and wristpin, the pitman, vibrating bar, the connecting rod, pawl bar, E, pawl,d, ratchet wheel, D, having attached to it the units wheel supplied withtwo teeth on one side and the cogged wheel, h, on the shaft, H,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the driving shaft, B,

having on its end the disk and wrist pin, the

pitman, vibrating bar, the connecting rod, pawl, d, having a rearextension, d", and a guide plate,f, for tripping the pawl, substantiallyas and for thepurpose described.

4. The combination of the driving shaft having a disk and wrist pin onthe end, the

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK LESLIE WOLFE. Witnesses:

JOSHUA H. MILLETT, ARTHER L. BoWKER.

